A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Summary In December 1757, two noblemen sought out Doctor Alexandre Manette and requested his medical expertise. Secretly taking him to a country house outside of Paris, the men — who Doctor Manette observed were twin brothers — ordered the Doctor to care for a delirious young peasant woman and her […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 10 – The Substance of the Shadow

Summary With Carton and Barsad in the other room, Mr. Lorry expresses his outrage at Jerry’s grave robbing activities and tells Jerry that he will be fired from Tellson’s. Never quite admitting his wrongdoing, Jerry asks Mr. Lorry to let his son take his place at Tellson’s and tells him […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 9 – The Game Made

Summary As Miss Pross and Jerry Cruncher enter a wine-shop, Miss Pross screams at the sight of a man about to leave whom she recognizes as her brother, Solomon Pross. Nervous about the attention Miss Pross is drawing to him, Solomon tells her to be quiet, and they leave the […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 8 – A Hand at Cards

Summary Although the Doctor voices confidence in the validity of Darnay’s release, Lucie remains fearful for her husband’s safety. As the family enjoys a quiet evening together, Miss Pross leaves on a shopping expedition with Jerry Cruncher. Soon afterward, four rough men pound on the door and enter the apartment. […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 7 – A Knock at the Door

Summary At the trial the next day, Darnay offers an articulate and well-planned defense of himself. However, the jury remains unconvinced of his innocence until Doctor Alexandre Manette and Mr. Lorry testify on his behalf. The court spectators who called for Darnay’s head at the beginning of the trial cheer […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 6 – Triumph

Summary Throughout Darnay’s imprisonment, Lucie goes to the prison for two hours each day hoping that her husband will be able to see her. The spot where he might view her, however, is next to a woodcutter’s house. The woodcutter, formerly the road-mender, torments Lucie by pretending to saw off […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 5 – The Wood-Sawyer

Summary After four days, Doctor Alexandre Manette finally returns from the prison. He tells Mr. Lorry how he tried to influence the court tribunal to free his son-in-law, but only secured a guarantee of Darnay’s safety. He also recounts the erratic behavior of the mob, which one minute would violently […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 4 – Calm in Storm

Summary Despite his personal devotion to Lucie and her daughter, Mr. Lorry recognizes as a businessman that keeping the family of a La Force prisoner at Tellson’s could endanger the bank. Consequently, he finds a nearby apartment for them and leaves Jerry Cruncher there to protect them. The day drags […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 3 – The Shadow

Summary Mr. Lorry is troubled by the violence in the city as he sits in his rooms at the Paris branch of Tellson’s Bank. Suddenly, Lucie and Doctor Alexandre Manette rush into the room, and Lucie frantically tells him that the revolutionaries have taken Charles prisoner. A mob enters the […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 2 – The Grindstone

Summary Charles Darnay travels through France to Paris, encountering bands of revolutionaries in every village along the way who condemn him as an aristocrat and emigrant and allow him to continue on only because of his letter from Gabelle. A decree has passed, he learns, that sells all the property […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapter 1 – In Secret